Liquid aerator and dispenser



Dec. 27, 1949 MlLLER 2,492,309

LIQUID AERATOR AND DISPENSER Filed Sept. 50, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Inventor Eldpn J. Miller E. J. MILLER LIQUID AERATOR AND DISPENSER Dec,27, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiIed Sept. so, 1948 Fig.2.

mmlllllllll Inventor [Man J. Mil/er Dec. 27, 1949 4 M L 2,492,309

LIQUID AERATOR AND DISPENSER Filed Sept. 30, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig.5.

I l8 6 I0 I00 18 Inventor I E/den J Miller I WW 2?. M5):

Patented Dec. 27, 1949 LIQUID AERATOR AND-DISPENSER Elden J .Miller,Arlingt'om va. "ApiilicationSeptember 30,1948; seria-rmrs'liesi Claims.

:11 7 invention relates to a liquid'aerat'or and dispenser and has forits primary objeet to'aerate liquids suehas fruit *io'ices; vegetableiuieeshi the like while they are retained in a conventional paok'a'ges'uch' asa can.

"Another bbje to facilitate "the dispensing-6f --tl 1'e liquid fromon'ven onal'containerWithout rewiring-the I i-f m'g-or iltingofthecontainer.

A -s't' =urther object ls -to enable air' -tome mtroducd in toaeonventional juice'oontainingbain, near-thebottom thereoi-sd that theair will bubble throug'h 'theliquid properly to aerate theTat ter,and-seleetively to createa head df *air ab'ove tainer through a suitablespout.

'The?abeve and-vother= obj ects mayb'e attained "by *emfil-eydng thisinvention when enibddies among' its'teaitures spaced-Vernon tabeseach emtending threu'gh tl'ie topic? the quid containing canto a point-near thebottom iii cansaport in *one o said tubes w iiflairf th'eean above-the'leve'i 'iftrre liqnid' therimaspQut mounteld for rotary movement intheupperend"ofthe' tube having-the pert therein, means within saidtubessiectively to open-enclose said p0i"t=as the spout-is rotated and apum t the *upper end df thedther 'tiib'e'for foriingfiir *thr'ough saidtlibeand into the liquid inthe can.

bt her features include-means rig-idlyconnecting th tiibes'adjacenttheirnpper'ends to'forma unitary nquid 'aerati-ng anddisp'enSingdeViGe,means atoppesite ends "or-the =conneetingimeans to extend' part w'aydownthesides of thdcan anc'lireleasa-blyhold thetubes in place 111"5116oan,"'a handle on the tube "connecting -1 means, and "a gasketencircling ea'ch 'tu'be "immediately below the tubeconneotin-gi means'to' effect "a 1 seal "between the topbf'thecan 'andth'e respectivetribes toprevent'theescape of'air- "from the can around the-"tubes.

--"Fig1:ire 1 'i's"a'-"perspective"view*oraliquiddispensingand-aerating'device"'embodying'thedeatures of this invention,

Figure "2 is "f8, fragmentary enlarged sectional vievv throughe.'jui'ceeontaining can illustrating this inrmroveiil'i'quidrdi'spensingand aerating .device innositiorrvvith'relationtos'aid can,

Figure is "a horizontal: sectional view itaken substantial-1y 'a'long'theline 3-"3'ofFigureT2,

Figure fi's a side view -on "aireducedfscale' of this improved aerating-:ar1d dispensing device showing 'it mounted- 'on a-conventionalf screw"top jar cover,

Wig-ore is a f-ra'gmentary side view-015 a can illustratin *a'modifiedrorm of liquid dispensing and aerating-device filace'thereon; and

Figure 6 isa top planviewof' Figure 5.

-Re'ferring to tl'ie -'='drawin'gs in detail a base designated generallytlcompiises a relatively stifi strip of metal Hprovidedadjacent-oppositeends with openings I 4. Opposite" ends of the stripor base i 'f 2 are*p'roviiied with downwardly inclined extensions 'I 'S terminating attheir outer lower ends in clips 18 which'are adapted to engage over thebead'B o'ia conventionalljuicecontaining'can which is equipped with a"conventional topT.

Extending through theopenin'gs l4 in the base or strip 12'aretubesZB-and' '22,the upperends of which "are externally s'crew"threaded as "at 24 and 25 respectively for'a'purpose'to be more fullyhereinafter described. Threadedonto the threaded end "24 0f thetube20"are clampin nuts 28 whicheneage oppositesides'of the strip or "baseT2,"finniytdciampthe tube '20 in position onthe 'stripor'base. Similarclampnuts 30Jare threaded 'ontothethreads'26' ofthe'tube'22 to engageop- 'po's'ite'sidesiofthe'strip or'base l2, to hold the tube"22i'inspaced p'ar'alIeL relation to the tube-"20. A suitable sealing gasket'32 surrounds each tube '20 and 22., and when" the device is onfplace onthe top T of aIcanC as"illustrated inFigur-e '2, these sealing.gask'e'ts form' a fluid tight (seal at the junctions of the tubes 29and 22 with the .top T. The end of each tube 20 an'd'22 iremote'from thethreaded end'si zl and "25 thereof respectively are bevelled as iat"34to' form Ls'harp cutting edges .on the tubes whieh will effectivelypunch through the t0.pT of'the can C. -Itis to be noted that the in-'clinationof the'bevelled. portion 34 is outwardly toward the wan-or the:caniC so'that-the punched out portions 1.? will" be turned inwardly onthe side of the.openingsIformed-by the-forcing of therespectivetubes'iill-and 2'2- throughthe top T nearest. the sidewall ofthecan C.

Threaded onto-the upper threaded'erid 240i the tube is the neck 36 of-afpumpcylinder" 38 containing atpiston .40 which, is connected to apiston rod 14% operating through anaxial opening-i-n thelhead ikofthecylindert-B. The end of the piston. rod J12 remote-from the piston:49 is equipped-with a.-hand1e 46,fland surrounding the.,-.piston rod zand bearing at one end onthe head M and at its oppositeend on the handle46 is "a "compression, coil1spi ingl8, which vyi'eIdingI-yuit'gestheinis'ton d0 toward the-head E4.

Threaded "into the "internally threaded neck '36 of the 'c lmuer'sais avalve caged!) which is'provide'djwith'amaxialfpassagei52 which opensiTl't0"the"bliifdr idflwhilefihe 'dppfisite end the passage opens into achamber 54 formed in the cage 50, and contains a ball valve 56. Formedat the end of the cage 56 remote from the passage 52 is an inturned lip58 supporting one end of a compression coil spring 60, the opposite endof which bears against the ball 56 to hold it upwardly in passageclosing position as will be readily understood upon reference to Figure2. It will thus be seen that as the piston 46 is advanced toward thevalve cage 50 against the effort of the spring 48 air within thecylinder will be forced outwardly through the passage 52 and into thetube 20 to be discharged through the bottom thereof into the liquid Lwithin the can C.

As illustrated in Figure 2, the tube 22 is provided with a port 62 whichopens into the can C above the level of the liquid L contained therein,and rotatably mounted within the upper end of the tube 22 is the end 64of a discharge spout 66. An extension 68 is formed at the inner end ofthe portion 64 of the discharge'spout, and in one position is adapted tooverlie the port 62 to effectively seal it against the escape of air. Asillustrated in Figure 2 the discharge spout 66 is provided with aninclined shoulder 16, and threaded onto the threaded end 26 of the tube22 is a bushing 72 having an inclined surface 14 which engages theshoulder to hold the spout 62 in proper position in the tube 22. Asuitable sealing gasket 76 is seated on the end of the tube adjacent thethreads 26 and contacts the extension 64 and bushing 12 effectively toseal the parts against the escape of liquid. A suitable handle 18 ismounted on the base or cross bar I2 to provide convenient means formanipulating the device.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figure 5, the upperend of the tube 26 instead of being equipped with the cylinder 38 isprovided with a cylinder 86 having an internally screw threaded reducedneck 82 for engagement with the tube 26, and mounted for reciprocationwithin the cylinder 86 is a conventional piston 84 having a piston rod86 which operates through the cylinder head 88 of the cylinder 66 and isconnected to the armature 90 of a conventional vibrator 92 housed withina housing 54 which is provided adjacent its bottom with laterallyextending flanges 96 for entrance into the grooves 93 formed in channelsI66 which are fixed to the base In in place of the handle H3. Thevibrator 92 is of conventional electro-magnetic type and has connectedthereto a conventional conductor cable or cord I62 which is equippedwith a conventional attachment plug 164 so that when the plug is enteredinto a suitable convenience outlet, the vibrator 92 will be set intooperation to caus the armature 96 to reciprocate and reciprocate thepiston 84 within the cylinder 80. The neck 82 is equipped with aconventional check valve such as that previously described to assure theintroduction of air into the tube when the armature 90 vibrates.

In use it will be understood that the tubes 26 and 22 are forced throughthe can top T as illustrated in Figure 2 so that their lower ends ter-.minate near the bottom of the can C. Upon reciprocating the piston 46,or the piston 84 within its respective cylinder, air will be introducedinto the can through the tube to bubble up through the liquid Lcontained within the can C into the space in the can above the liquid.When aeration is the only operation to be performed the spout 66 isrotated about the longitudinal axis of the tube 22 so that the air abovethe liquid L may escape through the port 62, and the aeration may takeplace for any length of time desired. When it is desired to dispense theliquid from the can however, the spout 66 is rotated about the axis ofthe tube 22 so that the tongue 68 overlies the port 62, effectivelypreventing the escape of air therethrough, and upon reciprocating thepiston 46 or 84 as the case may be within its respective pump cylinder,the air will be forced through the tube 26 and will find its way intothe space within the can C above the level of the liquid, to create apressure head on said liquid and force it out through the tube 22 andspout 66 into a suitable receptacle.

While in the foregoin there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resortedto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asclaimed.

Having described the invention, What is claimed as new is:

1. A liquid aerator and dispenser comprising spaced vertical tubes eachextending through the top of a liquid containing can to a point near thebottom of said can, a port in one of said tubes within the can above thelevel of the liquid therein, a spout mounted for rotary movement in theupper end of the tube having the port therein, means within said tubeselectively to open or close said port and a pump at the upper end ofthe other tube for forcing air through said tube and into the liquid inthe can.

2. A liquid aerator and dispenser comprising spaced vertical tubes eachextending through the top of a liquid containing can to a point near thebottom of said can, a port in one of said tubes within the can above thelevel of the liquid therein, a spout mounted for rotary movement in theupper end of the tube having the port therein, means within said tubeselectively to open or close said port as the spout is rotated, a pumpat the upper end of the other tube for forcing air through said tube andinto the liquid in the can, and means encircling each tube and restingon the top of the can to seal the junctions of the tube and the can topagainst the escape of air.

3. A liquid aerator and dispenser comprising spaced vertical tubes eachextending through the top of a liquid containing can to a point near thebottom of said can, a port in one of said tubes within the can above thelevel of the liquid therein, a spout mounted for rotary movement in theupper end of the tube having the port therein, means within said tubeselectively to open or close said port as the spout is rotated, a pumpat the upper end of the other tube for forcing air through said tube andinto the liquid in the can, and means rigidly connecting the tubesadjacent their upper ends, said means extending part way down the sidesof the can to releasably hold the tubes in place in the can.

4. A liquid aerator and dispenser comprising spaced vertical tubes eachextending through the top of a liquid containing can to a point near thebottom of said can, a port in one of said tubes within the can above thelevel of the liquid therein, a spout mounted for rotary movement in theupper end of the tube having the port therein, means within said tubeselectively to open or close said port as the spout is rotated, a pumpat the upper end of the other tube for forcing air through said tube and.into the liquid in the can,

means rigidly connecting the tubes adjacent their upper ends, said meansextending part way down the sides of the can to releasably hold thetubes in place in the can, and a handle on the tube connecting means.

5. A liquid aerator and dispenser comprising spaced vertical tubes eachextending through the top of a liquid containing can to a point near thebottom of said can, a port in one of said tubes within the can above thelevel of the liquid therein, a spout mounted for rotary movement in theupper end of the tube having the port therein, means connected to saidspout and within said tube selectively to open or close said port as the10 the escape of air from the can around the tubes.

ELDEN J. MILLER.

No references cited.

